ERIE, Pa. – Geneva's women's volleyball team dropped two very close matches today up at Penn State Behrend. Both losses came in five sets, the first being to the host school, Behrend, and the second one to Kenyon. Geneva is still winless on the year, dropping to 0-6 on the season heading into the second day of the tournament.

The first set of the day started off very closely, with an ace from freshman Laura Goonewardene giving the women their first lead of the match, 4-3. Geneva gave up four points from service errors over the next few minutes, but a couple of well-timed kills by junior Emily Nelson kept the score close. A block by sophomore Daphne Alexander put the GTs in front 13-12, and the women used that momentum to build a 17-14 lead. Behrend came back, however, making a 9-1 run to take a decisive advantage. A late Geneva rally fell short, and the women lost the first set 25-23.

The Golden Tornadoes stormed into the second set, racing out to a 9-0 lead behind five service aces from Alexander. Behrend stabilized at that point, but the Lions were not able to make a comeback. Geneva took the second set handily, 25-10.

With each team tied at one set apiece, it was the Lions' turn to start out hot, going up 4-1 early on. The women absorbed the hit and responded well by going on a 13-4 run, headlined by three more kills from Nelson and a strong block by senior Megan Veon and sophomore Katie Seboe. Behrend began to chip away, however, putting together a 13-5 run of their own to move in front. The teams traded off the next couple of points, but the Lions ended up winning the set 25-22.

Two aces from junior Heather Seubert gave Geneva a 6-1 advantage right off the bat in the next set. The Lions tried to push back, but kills from Veon, Alexander, and graduate student Destiny Pratt padded the women's lead, with the GTs going in front 13-5. Another 7-1 Geneva run late in the set sealed the deal, and the Golden Tornadoes forced a fifth set, winning the fourth 25-16.

The Lions began the final set as well as they could have hoped, jumping out to a massive 7-1 advantage. A kill and an ace by Veon gave Geneva a brief sliver of hope after that, but Behrend dominated the rest of the way, winning the fifth set 15-5 and the overall match in five sets.

Nelson had an excellent performance in her first game back from injury, recording a career-high 13 kills and a team-best 13 digs. Goonewardene led the team in assists with 22, and Alexander posted 9 aces. Veon and Pratt each had 10 kills in the loss.

The second match began with Kenyon building up a 17-10 lead over the Golden Tornadoes, but a rough stretch of play littered with Owls errors allowed Geneva to tie the score at 19 with a Veon kill. The score remained close till the end of the set, but the Owls took it eventually, 25-22.

Similarly to the first game of the afternoon, Geneva came out of the set break firing on all cylinders, building up a 10-2 lead thanks to three Seboe kills. As Geneva did in the first set, Kenyon responded by chipping away at the gap and eventually taking the lead, 21-20. The GTs closed the set on a nice 5-2 run, however, to win it 25-23.

The third set was an exhausting one for both sides. Geneva again jumped out to a big lead, starting the set off with eight straight points. Again, Kenyon calmly climbed back into the match, and the two sides found themselves tied at 25. The two teams went back and forth, until finally a kill by graduate student Savannah Byers gave Geneva the set win, 32-30.

The early-start script flipped in set four, with the Owls procuring an 8-0 advantage right off the bat. Veon and Pratt led Geneva in a mid-set comeback effort, pulling the women within two points, but Kenyon withstood the barrage and calmly finished the set off 25-15.

In their second fifth set of the day, Geneva began the final frame well, riding a kill from Veon and an ace from Alexander to a 4-1 lead. The Owls drew even again, and the two sides traded points until the score was 11-10 in favor of Kenyon. A 4-1 run from the Owls finished off Geneva, and the GTs once again fell in five sets.

Veon tied her career-high with a 24-kill effort against Kenyon, posting a .230 hitting percentage to go along with 6 blocks. Seboe and Pratt each had a career-high 13 kills as well, with Seboe hitting a very impressive .478. Goonewardene and Byers split the setting responsibilities, recording 24 and 21 assists, respectively. Nelson led the team defensively with 23 digs.

Geneva will return to Penn State Behrend tomorrow for two more tournament matches. The women will take on Fredonia at 10 AM before facing off against Houghton at noon.

Through purposeful learning in a community reflecting the full spectrum of God's kingdom, a Geneva College experience inspires students to discover a faith-life calling in service to God and neighbor. Offering 195+ traditional undergraduate majors and programs, fully online Adult Degree Programs and high-demand graduate degrees, Geneva's programs are recognized for their high quality and affordability. Geneva was founded and is governed by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) and is a founding member of both the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the International Association for Christian Education (IACE).